Bushido as patriotism
As I was reading old newspaper articles on the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910, I came across a reference to Bushido which surprised me. Admiral Sir Edward Seymour said over the annual dinner of the Japan Society that Japan was rich in many things but especially in "bushido," translating it as "passionate patriotism," and that a country which possessed passionate patriotism was safe.
On a second thought, this is not such a bad rendering for Bushido, wasn't it? After all what it really means is that the warrior, be it the samurai or the kamikaze teenager towards the end of WWII, follows the orders of his officer without questioning those, all in the name of patriotism. "Passionate" simply means that he goes to the extent ordinary people would not, such as sacrificing his life, or the life of others, in the most unthinkable way.
As for Japan being safe with its Bushido, well, we know that it worked only for a while. In 1910 Japan was still bathing in the glory of its victorious Russo-Japanese War and things looked promising. As they indeed were for the next 30 years. Also, during the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910, Japan was a British ally, whereas in later years they were at war with each other.
Going back to Bushido, which we usually understand along the lines of the Way of the Warrior, the Warrior's Code, etc., interpreting it as a political/social conduct was quite interesting to me.
On a second thought, this is not such a bad rendering for Bushido, wasn't it? After all what it really means is that the warrior, be it the samurai or the kamikaze teenager towards the end of WWII, follows the orders of his officer without questioning those, all in the name of patriotism. "Passionate" simply means that he goes to the extent ordinary people would not, such as sacrificing his life, or the life of others, in the most unthinkable way.
As for Japan being safe with its Bushido, well, we know that it worked only for a while. In 1910 Japan was still bathing in the glory of its victorious Russo-Japanese War and things looked promising. As they indeed were for the next 30 years. Also, during the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910, Japan was a British ally, whereas in later years they were at war with each other.
Going back to Bushido, which we usually understand along the lines of the Way of the Warrior, the Warrior's Code, etc., interpreting it as a political/social conduct was quite interesting to me.
Labels: Bushido, Japanese history
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